Dismiss: Sending Away, Sacking, and Refusing to Take Seriously
To dismiss is to send someone away, to end their employment, or to reject an idea as not worth considering. Cricket uses it for getting a batter out.
Dismiss means to send away. Its most cutting use is intellectual: dismissing an argument is not answering it, and the word is honest about that — a dismissal ends the conversation without engaging with it.
- To send away. *The class was dismissed early.*
- To end someone's employment. *He was dismissed for misconduct.*
- To reject as unworthy of consideration. *She dismissed the idea out of hand.*
- To throw out a case (law). *The case was dismissed.*
- To get a batter out (cricket). *Dismissed for twelve.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | dismiss | Dismiss the claim. |
| Noun | dismissal | Unfair dismissal. |
| Adjective | dismissive | A dismissive wave. |
| Adverb | dismissively | He shrugged dismissively. |
| Related | mission | A diplomatic mission. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The tribunal found the dismissal unfair.Employment law — a specific legal test applies.
- He dismissed the warnings as scaremongering.Dismiss as — rejecting by relabelling.
- Class dismissed.The classic teacher's line.
Dismissal in employment law
- Fair dismissal — for a permitted reason, following a proper procedure
- Unfair dismissal — either the reason or the process fails the legal test
- Wrongful dismissal — a breach of the contract itself, usually of notice
- Constructive dismissal — the employee resigns because the employer's conduct made staying impossible
- Summary dismissal — without notice, for gross misconduct
From Latin *dimittere*, to send away, from *dis* and *mittere*, to send. The same *mittere* gives mission, permit, transmit and commit — one of the largest word families English took from Latin.
Dismiss or fire?
Fire is informal and American in origin. Dismiss is the formal term and the one used in legal contexts.
What does dismiss out of hand mean?
Reject immediately, without considering the argument at all.